Joe Walters Connects with Youth Through Instagram

A chance encounter on the streets of Rochester, N.Y., turned into so much more through the power of social media.

Joe Walters of the Rochester Knighthawks took a picture of a young lacrosse player in downtown Rochester and posted it on Instagram, reflecting on how the game had grown in the city.

“I was just out buying lunch and I was downtown,” said Walters. ”I was driving by, and I saw the kid with a lacrosse stick and gear. I was just blown away. It was the first time I had ever seen something like that, especially in my hometown. So I snapped a pic and I put that up, and obviously it got some attention.”

But one of Walters’ followers recognized the boy in the photo as one of his teammates, and asked Walters to to show his team “some love."

“I commented back and I asked them when they had practice ... and he got back to me right away on the post," said Walters, who played high school lacrosse at nearby Irondequoit. "The next day, I decided to go out there and pay them a visit.”

Walters surprised the University Prep Charter School junior varsity team by showing up at their practice. He spoke with the players, giving them advice on the game, and also gave the team tickets to the Knighthawks final home game on Saturday, a matchup with the Buffalo Bandits.

“It was great,” Walters said, discussing his meeting with the players. “When I got there, the head coach happened to be a guy I’ve known for years. He was my math teacher in high school. He’s a great guy. He’s a guy that didn’t play lacrosse ... but he’s been coaching lacrosse here for years now. He’s really been impactful in those kids as far as bring lacrosse to the inner city.”

The interaction with the players left Walters blown away.

“I talked about stick work and stuff like that, but then after I let them ask any questions they wanted. I can honestly say that these guys had the most insightful questions that I’ve ever taken. Usually, you talk to a team where you’re doing a clinic, and they usually ask ‘what’s your favorite stick?’ or something like that. These kids were asking me about my diet and my workout routine. What dodges to do in different situations and other stuff like that. I was really impressed with how insightful their questions were, and how eager they were to ask them.”